Assassin's Chronicle

"Your Majesty, this is a risky move," the old man said quietly to Yolanthe.

Yolanthe frowned. He turned to Saul and asked, "What do you think?"

"This is the first time I heard about the Chameleon Unit, Your Majesty," Saul said. "I am not qualified to give an opinion." He paused and smiled. "I can, however, talk about this issue from another angle. Douminge has been serving Scarlet, and he is one of the most powerful mages in the world. His lightning spells are nightmares for all of his opponents. Anfey may be a two-discipliner, but..." Saul’s voice trailed off. Clearly, he didn’t think Anfey was qualified enough to take on Douminge.

"Scarlet has the Supreme Armor," the old man added. "Even though it ranks after the Azure Armor, it is still not a good idea to underestimate it." The old man paused and sighed. "I’ve seen that armor before. The only place not protected by Supreme Armor are the eyes."

Yolanthe nodded but did not say anything.

"If Douminge is there, even if Anfey could get close to Scarlet, he will only have one opportunity. Scarlet is a senior silver knight. She won’t be sitting around and waiting for him."

"Douminge won’t be the only one protecting her, either," Saul said. "If Manstuly or Fernando is there...well, I believe that it is impossible for anyone to kill her if she is protected by so many top level powers."

"I agree, Your Majesty," the old man said. "We cannot use the Chameleon Unit right now. If Anfey fails, the unit will be exposed. We cannot allow that to happen."

"We’re all old now," Yolanthe said with a sigh. "The future of Maho Empire lies in the hands of the younger generation. If we can’t provide aid, the least we can do is encourage them."

"You mean..."

"Tell Anfey about this," Yolanthe said. "I want to him to make his own decision."

"What if he insists on killing Scarlet?"

"Then we let him."

"This is too risky!"

"We all did risky things when we were young, didn’t we?" Yolanthe said, shaking his head. "Anfey isn’t someone who would rush into a decision. I trust that he will plan out his every move before committing to the plan."

Saul and the old man sighed and nodded.

In White Mountain City, Sam brought a man to the meeting room to meet Anfey. The middle-aged man who was referred to as Little Bird, Sam walked into the room and nodded at Anfey.

"This is the man that can make a decision?" Anfey asked Sam. White Mountain City had reopened its trade routes and became busy again. The merchants and mercenaries had clashed a few times since the reopening of the routes. Investigations showed that the merchants had done nothing wrong: The mercenaries had started the arguments. Alice wanted to punish them, but she needed to run the decision by Anfey.

Sam nodded. "This is Lord Robert," Sam said. "Lord Robert, this is the head of the League of Mercenaries, Lord Anfey."

"Sit," Anfey said.

"I’ve heard rumors," Robert said, "about your rudeness, sir."

"You’re not that important," Anfey said with a shrug. "You’re a guest. Isn’t it natural for you to respect me?"

"Such rudeness will not earn you any respect, sir."

"Anyone who treats me with respect, I will treat with respect," Anfey said. "Sit."

Robert sighed. "Is it true that you have Sacred Inheritance?"

Anfey looked at Robert with a frown. "Are you questioning me?"

"No," Robert said. "This is a question I need an answer to. It is vital to my response."

Anfey blinked, then nodded.

Robert nodded. He sat down and dismissed Sam. Realizing that Robert wanted to speak alone, Anfey waved his hand to dismiss the mercenaries. Kumaraghosha nodded at him and ushered the mercenaries out of the room.

Kumaraghosha was standing outside the room when he saw Alice hurrying over. She smiled at him and was going to push open the door.

"Wait," Kumaraghosha called. "Lord Anfey wants to be alone, My Lady."

"Why?" Alice asked. This was the first time someone stopped her from seeing Anfey because she, like Christian, didn’t need to report beforehand to meet with Anfey.

"He’s speaking with the Rangers, my lady," Kumaraghosha said.

"I see," Alice said. Even though Anfey didn’t talk much about the Rangers, Alice knew how important they were to him.

"Do you want to wait here, my lady? Or come back later?" Kumaraghosha asked.

"Lord Anthony has an important guest," Alice said with a frown. "Anfey needs to greet the guest himself."

"Who is it?" Kumaraghosha asked, curious. Normally he wouldn’t be nosy, but he cared about Alice.

Alice glanced around and whispered into Kumaraghosha’s ear, "Batusimon sent someone over. They’re at Lord Anthony’s right now."

"So Storm mercenary group wants to join the League as well?" Kumaraghosha asked. The League had already became Kumaraghosha’s new home and he cared very much about its health.

"Maybe," Alice said with a smile. "Maybe they have further plans. Who knows? Kumaraghosha, you trust people way too easily."

Kumaraghosha smiled. "My lady is wise."

Alice shook her head. "What did I say before? Treat me as you would a sister."

"Ah...yes, My Lady."

Alice rolled her eyes. She saw Kumaraghosha as an older brother, but clearly Kumaraghosha didn’t see her as a sister.

"Why don’t I go talk to Lord Anfey?" Kumaraghosha asked.

"No need," Alice said. "The Rangers are equally as important. I will wait."

The wait was longer than Alice had expected. She grew bored and went to run some other errands. By the time Kumaraghosha sent someone to fetch her, it was already dusk.

Because Anfey was so interested in the Rangers, Alice became interested in them as well, but she didn’t want to appear to be reaching above her station.

Alice walked into the meeting room, and her attention turned to the stranger. She felt that he looked familiar, but she did not remember where she had met him before. Back when she was back in Shansa Empire, she would meet hundreds of people everyday. It was no surprise she did not remember who Robert was.

"Do you know each other?" Anfey asked.

"He looks familiar," Alice said.

"No," Robert said, shaking his head. "Just... she reminds me so much of a Shansa Princess. I almost made a mistake."